James Frain joins the cast of Gotham as an all new villain

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

With the first season of Gotham enjoyed by a large number of viewers but lamented by critics (including yours truly), there definitely needed to be some changes made for season two. One aspect of the show that fans hated was Jada Pinkett-Smith as Fish Mooney. Mooney was one of the lone original characters not based on a DC Comics creation but her hammy acting led to many people applauding her exit from the show. Now, FOX and Gotham’s showrunners are preparing another new creation, one fans may like a little bit more.

James Frain has joined the cast of Gotham’s second season as original creation Theo Galavan.

A new Gotham arrival, Galavan is the savior the city has been waiting for — he is sexy, heroic, and lovingly devoted to his sister Tabitha (yet to be cast). But behind Galavan’s altruism is a centuries-old vendetta. Galavan and Tabitha (aka Tigress) will take chaos and violence to a new level in order to bleed Gotham. Their plan will lead to the creation of new villains… and the destruction of others.

Frain is best known to audiences for his supporting roles in ELIZABETH, REINDEER GAMES, TRON: LEGACY, and TV series like 24, The Tudors, True Blood, Agent Carter, and the new season of True Detective. He also played a comic book style villain in the short-lived NBC superhero series The Cape. Frain is very adept at playing bad guys and he should bring something special to Gotham.

It is an interesting twist to make Frain’s character the brother of an established DC Comics character in Tigress. It is also a cool concept to use this original creation to foster more foes for Jim Gordon and, eventually, Bruce Wayne. I am looking forward to seeing if Gotham can improve during it’s sophomore run as there were glimmers of a good series throughout the first year.

Gotham returns to FOX on September 2015.